In August, the New Jersey Supreme Court took the extraordinary step of vacating an arbitration decision that denied payment from New Jersey’s Spill Fund for damage allegedly caused by oil spills during Superstorm Sandy. That decision, US Masters Residential Property (USA) Fund v. NJDEP, highlights the critical importance of clearly communicating expert testimony to the tribunal.…

On August 23 2019, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law A5293, which amends the Site Remediation Reform Act (SRRA). The amendments are wide ranging and include exemptions from direct oversight, authorization to use surety bonds as remediation funding sources, and a requirement that the person responsible for conducting the remediation respond to public inquiries regarding the status of a remediation.…

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has proposed to change Surface Water Quality Standards antidegradation designations for 749 miles of rivers and streams in New Jersey. The changes will heighten standards for regulated discharges to those waterbodies and extend the applicable Flood Hazard Area Control Act riparian development buffer from the current 150 feet to 300 feet. The buffer restricts development and excludes sewer service for development. Antidegradation designations provide three levels of…

Last week, the Attorney General and the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection held a press conference to announce the filing of eight new environmental enforcement actions. Targeted sites include Camden’s Puchack Wellfield Superfund Site, the Fillit Corp. site in Palmyra, 323 North Olden Ave. in Trenton, the Novick Chemical site in Newark, Tirpok Cleaners in Flemington, and gas stations in Newark, Camden and Phillipsburg. This is the State’s second round of…

The Appellate Division has affirmed a $66,200 administrative penalty imposed by DEP against the owner of a shopping center constructed atop a closed municipal landfill. The unpublished and non-precedential decision in NJDEP v. Raritan Shopping Center LP found liability based on current ownership of the contaminated site, despite the landowner never discharging hazardous substances and conducting due diligence prior to purchasing. Raritan purchased the property in 1993 after conducting environmental tests that discovered low levels…

The EPA’s 2014 cooling water rule for existing power plants (40 C.F.R. pts. 122, 125) has survived challenges from both environmental and industry groups. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the contentious rule which allows for, among other things, case-by-case determinations of best technology available (BTA) required for minimizing adverse environmental impacts from cooling water intake structures (CWISs), finding that the rule was based on reasonable interpretations of applicable statutes and sufficiently supported by…

In a recent unreported opinion, the Appellate Division affirmed a trial court’s decision imposing Spill Act liability on the sole shareholder of a dry cleaning business. (Morris Plains Holding VF, LLC v. Milano French Cleaners, Inc., Dkt. No. A-0604-16T1.) The case serves as a reminder that shareholder status does not protect individuals who are otherwise liable for contamination pursuant to the Spill Act. The trial judge found that Milano French Cleaners operated for 25 years…